Antique World Map Decoupage Candles

Jazz up those boring LED candles! Get our free antique world map printables, and we’ll show you how to use them to make these awesome decoupage candles!

When I first started crafting, I jumped right in with a decoupage project. What a mistake! Believe it or not, it was way worse than what Greg went through with his first Mod Podge project. [Yeah, right. Easy to make that claim with no supporting evidence. Show pics, or it didn’t happen! -Greg] Every time I tried to get rid of the air bubbles, I ended up tearing the dang paper! After four or five tries, I was so annoyed that I literally cried and swore that I would never try my hand at decoupage again. [It would have been hilarious if she weren’t my wife, and if I didn’t value my life. -Greg] Hahahaha, I know…what a sore loser, right? 😀 But just like anything else in life, the more you practice, the better you become at it…or should I say, the more you practice, the better you handle defeat! LOL. A couple months and many defeats later, I must have trained my nerves well, as I was able to pick up a bottle of Mod Podge without shaking with fear and anger, LOL! This time, surprisingly, everything went excellent, and I managed to make some beautiful antique world map decoupage candles for Greg’s Mom as a gift.

Since a DIY gift is always appreciated greatly, I wanted to share a mother-loved-and-approved project with you, as Mom still loves the ones I gave her three years ago. 😉

Have you had enough of my yapping? [Who could ever have enough of that? *rolls eyes* -Greg]

Then let’s get on with the decoupage candles tutorial, shall we?

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Antique World Map Decoupage Candles

The full written tutorial is below, but why not check out the video tutorial first?

First I took a bunch of measurements to find out the size of my LED candles. Once I knew the candle size, I prepared my antique world maps according to size.

I made several decoupage designs for both 5 inch and 6 inch tall LED candles…and yes, as usual, I am sharing all of them with you at the end of the post. Hence, if you’d like to use those designs, you can skip the step above 😉

When working on this project, I first started with Method No.1, which I usually have great success with on big flat surfaces, as it helps eliminating bubbles. But since the decoupage surface on these candles was small and not flat, I also gave Method No.2 a try, and I have to say that was much easier and faster. Still, I will show you both methods, so you can choose whichever would seem easier for you.

Before the paper settled in its place, I made sure it was aligned with the top of the candle as precisely as possible. Then I smoothed out the paper and got rid of any bubbles.

Once the first area was done, I turned the candle around and spread some more Mod Podge. I again placed the paper and smoothed it out with my fingers to get rid of the bubbles.

Now here is another hint for you: keep your fingers clean! If you get Mod Podge on your finger tips, just quickly clean them with a dry cloth. Otherwise your fingers will become sticky, and that will either create a mess on the decoupage paper, or make it hard to work while handling the paper. So clean and dry fingertips are the key for an easier decoupage candle process.

Once I had the top of the paper aligned, I gently wrapped the paper all around the candle, and again gently smoothed it with my fingers. This smoothing process gets rid of any creases or air bubbles you may have.

The “clean finger tips” hint also applies to this method. Do you see how I am trying to keep my index finger away from the paper? That is because it had Mod Podge on it, and I knew I would mess up the whole thing if I touched that paper with my gluey fingertip.

Now that I’ve shown you both methods I use for decoupaging, you can select whichever seems easier for you. I prefer the first method when the size of the decoupage is big – just so you would have a better understanding, I consider these maps medium size. If the decoupage paper is small, then I go with the second method, because although it is a bit messier, it also is faster.

Once the paper was glued to the candles, I let the candles sit for an hour. This allowed the glue to dry and cure a little. An hour later, I took a new sponge brush and applied the protective coat on the decoupage paper. I put 2 thin layers of Mod Podge with the sponge brush.

You may make these also for outdoor use if you like – all it would need is a protective layer (brush on or spray varnish) suitable for outdoors.

Now it is time for the beauty shots. Let’s see if you’ll like my antique map decoupage candles 😉

As usual some close-ups for you to see the details…

By the way, you will love these printable maps I am sharing. Can you see how clear they are? You can read almost every word on them! 😉

I love the way Greg staged them in these galvanized metal planters.

And as promised, here are the free decoupage candle antique world map printables. Please note the maps are designed to fit 5 and 6 inch tall candles when printed to letter size paper (8.5 x 11) and with no scaling. You’ll find them in the Maps section of The VIP Patch.

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Comments

these candles are so beautiful Handan, your hands are so artistic, and i highly recomend that everyone take the time to watch the video,and go all the way through it and read the credits, so they can see what greg was up to lmao xx

Oh you gotta love him! LOLOL. Yesterday when he told me that he finished editing and uploading the video I was like “What editing? Wasn’t it the final version that you showed me?” Then he said he just put the credits for the song and all, so I didn’t think much of it. Only after I hit publish here on the blog did I see what kind of credits he put. LOL. He is so funny!

I am so glad you liked the candles. Christmas is not far off you know 😉

Love the simplicity of the video. Very smooth and straight forward. I think the soundtrack needs some variety, it got a little wearing by the end, even with the vocals. It would be good to include the brush in your presentation of tools which was a great part of the video. The whole video complemented your tutorial really well I thought. I do think you should post the audio outtakes of Greg “directing”, I’m sure they are hysterical!

Printed out maps last night but p/c was so doggoned slow decided to print how-to’s today and to thank you so much for providing the maps. Was so generous of you to provide all of them for us. Your candles are so pretty and so well done. Hope I can do them justice, look as great as yours. Loved how you staged them in metal container, just happen to have one or two of those containers so will try what you did. Need to get some led candles, will build up supply little by little unless can catch some on sale. Will watch HL or Michaels sales when we get paid again.. Wishing you both a wonderful happy Easter.

Hahahaha…you just gotta love the power of “muting and adding music” when making a video! That hides all the mistakes and nervousness and even more. LOL. I don’t think I can ever do a video tutorial where I have to talk for minutes and minutes non-stop about the same thing. That really takes a certain skill set which I don’t think I have. Then again, if you ask Greg, he would definitely say that no one can yap better and longer than I about the same thing. hahahahaha 😀

They look beautiful! And you’re right, the map is absolutely gorgeous! Love how you describe the process and always love the good humor:) Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm! xo Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home

Handan, you’ve done it again! I am so charmed by these map candles. I forecast that everyone I know (and maybe even strangers on the street) will be receiving map candles from me this year as gifts. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at the #ThisIsHowWeRoll Link Party.

I am featuring your fabulous candles at my link party on Grandma Ideas http://grandmaideas.com I think that these are terrific and can’t wait to make some of my own! Thanks for sharing the maps. I really appreciate it!

I was just about to ask a silly question about what happens as the candle burns down, what a good thing I read that you used led candles before I made a fool of myself!! I love how these look, and your ‘what I learn’t’ tips are great too. Thanks

Hello Carolyn, hahaha – what are the odds…most likely you were filling the form as I was correcting the glitch our sign-up form had! 😀 That has to be why it didn’t add your e-mail to our subscribers list, and of course as a result the link never showed. No worries…I’ll sign you up manually and right after I will send you the maps. 🙂

Loved the maps and Hubby loved the candles I made. I started at the edge of the paper and rolled the candle onto it on the table surface. No bubbles or creases and no glue on me. What a fun project. Thank you.

Thanks for linking up at The Pretty Pintastic Party! We just loved these candles, so we’ll be featuring them at the party this weekend. I hope you’ll stop by, grab a featured button, and share some more fabulous posts!

Hey from Southeastern NC!!! I just found your blog through HomeTalk (gotta love some good ole HT…its a daily thing for Me…ha) and your blog is GREAT! I love blogs that are fun to read instead of skipping all the blah blah blaaaah straight to the DIY! Keep up the awesome work! I will be making the maps for My 17.5 yr old that LOVES old world and the thoughts of becoming an adult to travel the world! TFS the detail on them is the best!!!! Have a blessed beyond measure day!!! Erica Smith

Thank you so much, Erica! Haha – agreed! Gotta love some good ole HT – I also love checking out HT on daily basis 🙂 I’m so glad you liked our free printable old maps. I hope you post the pictures of your map project to our Facebook page as I’d love to see them! 🙂

Hi Joan, I see that you received and opened our welcome email. So you should have the latest password to get into VIP Patch. Once you’re in the VIP patch, just go to Home Decor tab and click on the correct image/button to download the maps. Should you have any issues during downloading please try our Printables FAQ page for initial trouble shooting. And if you still can’t download the printables after the initial trouble-shooting, then email Greg at greg@thenavagepatch.com and we’ll see how we can help you further. 🙂

I swear, if you could reproduce that man you could make a fortune! I would buy one of him! The candles turned out great and you inspired me with so many other ideas. Great job and I am so glad you didn’t let the Mod Podge get the better of you!

These look fantastic. I love old maps and decor and the light of the candles shining through makes it look so beautiful. They must look lovely on at night. I wondered how the paper would go burning down until I saw you had used LED candles! Much safer and no need to replace them and make more! Genius!

Whenever I decoupage I use a mix of what we call “school glue” or “clag” glue (Clag was the brand every school kid had) and water. I think our big box craft store has started selling Mod Podge but it’s super expensive. There are some projects I’ve seen where I think I’ll have to shell out for the real thing, though, as the ol’ school glue and water isn’t in any way protective (I always use a spray over the top but it still wouldn’t be waterproof in any way!). I’m often jealous at the sheer range over there when it comes to…well…everything!

Oh my God, Jay, how did I miss this awesome comment? Thank you so much, and I’m so sorry I didn’t respond sooner. In Turkey we also use school glue (or white glue as we Turks call it) for decoupaging. I didn’t even know about Mod Podge until after I moved to USA. Luckily the price is not that bad here (especially when you buy a big gallon jug), so it makes sense to use it. 😉

Greg it’s me again. I’m now doing the antique maps on candles. I have spent a couple hrs trying to download the maps to resize them according to Handan directs. Doesn’t work. Here is the message we get ( now hubby is involved) I got a message that says paint can’t read the file. Not a valid bitmap file or it’s format is not supported. Now what? Diane White. The map is to short. I have 9 to do. Please help

Hi Diane, the maps we share at the VIP Patch are PDF files – meaning that you can’t resize them as I prepared them specifically to fit 5 inch and 6 inch candles. That said, if you give me the dimensions of your candles, I can check if I have any digital maps on hand to fit those sizes. I hope this helps! 🙂 -Handan

Handan, if you are too busy (which I’m sure you are) then for now I won’t worry about the 4” candle. I have to go an hour away to staples to get the other prints made, I can go later for the 4”” later if you can tell ok for now. Thanks so much for your help

Hi Shirley, it certainly would work. I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but I have a post where you’ll see a map decoupaged lamp shade (with the link to the tutorial) and also our free printable large antique maps (they’re poster size free downloadable maps and you can resize them smaller or even bigger if you like to fit to your decoupage project): https://www.thenavagepatch.com/wooden-world-map-wall-art-and-free-printable-vintage-maps/ I hope you like it! 🙂

Handan & Greg

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